I was dreaming a nightmare that never ended.

“D-dear! Why are you— Guh!”

It always began the same way: my father collapsing to the ground, blood spraying from his lips, and my mother standing over him, looking down with cold, emotionless eyes.

“Ah! So, this is what happened in the end.” My mother licked the blood from her hand and burst into a shrill laugh. “I was... a witch after all.”

Then her gaze turned toward me. Her voice was gentle, but her bloodstained figure was anything but that.

She pulled me into her arms, sobbing quietly. “Laneige. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for giving birth to you.”

She was trembling while hugging me. I should have felt warm. But it was so cold, it felt like hugging ice.

***

Eventually, I was accepted into the Hero Academy, but somehow, word about me had already spread. As I stood at the entrance ceremony, countless eyes fell upon me. Whispers surrounded me, and eyes filled with hatred, disgust, and fear stared at me.

“That’s her, right? The daughter of the Archbishop of Frost.”

“Why would they let a demon’s child into the Hero Academy?”

“Mixed blood or not, if she’s got demon blood in her, she should be killed.”

There wasn’t a single corner of that vast academy where I belonged. I apologized, again and again. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

But no one ever accepted it. I knew it couldn’t be helped. After all, I was the daughter of a demon, a terrible witch. I was a being that should never have been born. They weren’t the ones at fault. They hadn’t done anything wrong. The one who was wrong was me.

So, I kept apologizing. “Really, I’m sorry.”

One day, someone reached out to me. “Are you okay?”

That person was Aaron Baek. However, it didn’t take me long to realize that the hand he offered was ice-cold. Behind that bright smile of his was his hatred and burning anger toward me. It couldn’t be helped. After all, I was the daughter of the enemy who had killed his father. Aaron wasn’t the bad one. The one who was bad was me.

Time passed, and I reached my fourth year. Three whole years had gone by, yet nothing had changed. The way people looked at me, the way the world treated me, was still as cold, still as cruel as ever.

It couldn’t be helped. The world wasn’t wrong. It was because I was born the daughter of a witch and because demon blood flowed through my veins. That was why, the one who had to apologize was me.

“I’m sorry.”

The one who had to beg forgiveness was me. The one who was wrong was me. It was me, it was always me.

***

A cold, biting voice snapped me out of thought. “What are you spacing out for?”

I knew that voice well. Bella was glaring at me with frozen eyes. I knew that look all too well. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

I flinched, then quickly lowered my head. “I’m sorry.”

“Huh?”

“I-I did something wrong.”

“Who asked for your apology? I told you to fight the monster, didn’t I? You’re a hero cadet too, aren’t you?”

My trembling gaze shifted toward the creature ahead. It was a demonic monster with a serpent’s head and a human’s body. Its seven slimy eyes gleamed as they locked onto me.

I was terrified. Just looking at it made my knees shake. While I had learned plenty of battle spells during my four years at the academy, faced with a real demonic monster, my mind went blank. I wanted to turn and run, but Bella was standing behind me, blocking the way.

Breathing heavily, I stretched out my trembling hand. I focused my mana, desperately forming a spell. Shards of ice began gathering in midair. But that lasted only for a moment.

The monster roared, and my concentration shattered. “Kyahhh!”

The spell collapsed, and the ice shards fell uselessly to the ground.

“Ha. What are you even doing?” Bella said.

“S-sorry!”

“Do it properly. Our junior’s watching, you know?”

I turned my head toward the “junior” Bella mentioned. He was a student with dark gray hair and sharp, wolfish eyes. I remembered the first time we met. He had frowned the moment he saw me. It was nothing new. No one ever smiled kindly at the witch tainted with demon blood.

Suddenly, a chill ran through me, so cold it made me shiver uncontrollably. My teeth chattered violently. “Ugh.”

This was a humid jungle, where the air itself was thick with heat. It was supposed to be sweltering hot, not freezing. Then why was I cold? It was so cold, like I was wandering naked through a blizzard. It was so unbearably cold.

Cold. Cold. Cold.

I shook uncontrollably. I rubbed my hands together, trying to warm them, but the icy pain wouldn’t fade.

Bella frowned. “What the hell are you doing?”

“N-no. It’s j-just... c-cold.”

She let out a short, incredulous laugh. “Cold? You’re saying you’re cold?”

“Ha! Unbelievable.”

She stepped forward and, as though she were kicking a ball, slammed her boot into my stomach.

“Guh!”

The impact lifted me off the ground. Pain exploded through my abdomen, but even that didn’t compare to the overwhelming cold gnawing at my body.

My breath trembled, misting faintly in the jungle’s heavy air. “Haa! Haa! Hhhuuuh.”

Warm breath escaped my trembling hands as I tried to blow some heat into them. But the more I did, the colder it felt, like the air itself was biting into my skin.

Bella scowled. “Seriously, this bitch is hopeless.”

She grabbed me by the collar and hurled me toward the lizard-like demonic monster.

The world spun, and my back slammed into the frozen ground, sending a violent jolt through my body. “Ugh!”

I let out a scream. “Eek!”

I looked up to see the monster glaring at me, seven eyes glinting with murderous light. Panicking, I scrambled backward across the ground, desperate to get away, eyes darting in search of help.

“Aaron... Aaron.”

There he was, arms crossed, looking down at me with those cold, detached eyes. A sigh slipped past my lips. I already knew that behind that gentle smile of his lurked a deep, frozen hatred. Still, I had called out to him, pathetically so. Because even if his hand had always been cold, Aaron was the only one who had ever reached out to me.

“Ah! It’s so cold.”

It always was. The world had always been unbearably cold, and the nightmares never stopped. Tears welled at the corner of my eyes and slid down my cheeks.

A silent cry that would never reach anyone echoed inside my chest.

Help me! Please, someone... save me.

Before that desperate wish could even finish forming, the monster moved, slow and deliberate. I saw its claws, its twitching tail, and its hunger.

“Grrrrrr.”

I didn’t even try to run. I just curled up, hugging my knees tightly to my chest. A faint white breath escaped my lips. No matter how I screamed and no matter how hard I fought, I knew, there would never be a hero coming to save me.

“I... just want to be warm.”

Just feeling warmth once would have been enough. But it was obvious. There didn’t exist, anywhere in this world, a hero who would save a witch.

The beast lunged, letting out a hideous roar. I squeezed my eyes shut.

At that moment, another voice rang out. “Ignite.”

The next instant, a fire surged. Flames erupted, devouring the demonic monster whole.

I slowly lifted my head. “Huh?”

There he stood, Dale Han, my junior, his dark gray hair catching the firelight, and his sharp eyes fixed protectively ahead of me.

***

“Hm.”

The air was tense and heavy. Aaron scratched his cheek with an awkward smile. “Haha! Sorry. I guess Bella’s little prank went too far.”

He walked over to where Laneige and I stood. “I’ll apologize on her behalf.”

I let out a long sigh, staring up at him. Aaron was destined to become one of the top five heroes in the near future. Even if I didn’t join his party, keeping good relations with him would be invaluable in the coming war against the Demon God’s army.

Laneige, on the other hand, couldn’t control it properly even if she awakened her Blessing of Frost. At best, she would be a liability. One was a guaranteed winning ticket, and the other was a ticking bomb that could one day wipe out humanity. The choice was obvious, simple and clear. So then, why was it that I felt this way?

Aaron continued, “I mean, it wasn’t malicious. Bella just wanted Laneige to toughen up, you know?”

Without any hesitation, my fist struck Aaron’s cheek hard.

Perhaps because he hadn’t expected it, he stumbled back and fell, clutching his face. “Ugh!”

Bella’s expression twisted in fury as she pointed her sword at me. “Hey! What the hell—”

Aaron stopped her with a sharp look. “Bella. Stay out of this.”

Clicking his tongue, he stood up. He reached out, and the spear he had set against a stump flew into his hand. “I just want to ask one thing.”

He turned to me, spinning the spear in his hand. Then he frowned, as if he truly couldn’t understand. “Why are you protecting that witch?”

He continued, his tone calm but firm, “I actually liked you, Dale. You’re smart, sharp, and skilled. That’s why I invited you to join my party after graduation. My family’s situation might not be great lately, but we’re still one of the most powerful houses in the Republic.”

I knew that.

“And, well, not to brag, but I’m confident in my strength. When I graduate, I’ll be a hero who can stand proud anywhere.”

I knew that very well.

“But Laneige? She’s a witch born from demon blood, an Archbishop-level demon at that. Even if she seems fine now, who knows when she’ll turn into a monster like her mother?”

I knew it all too well.

Aaron’s eyes narrowed, voice low. “Then tell me, why are you pointing your sword at me instead of at her?”

Why did I side with Laneige instead of him? Was he really so desperate to understand that he would lecture me this long for an answer?

I replied nonchalantly, “Beats me. I don’t really know.”

“What?”

“I said, I don’t know. Not even I know why I’m doing this.” I shrugged.

Of course, I knew this wasn’t a smart move. Call it pity or foolish impulse, it didn’t matter. But if I had to give it a reason, it was simple.

“I just... felt like holding her hand,” I said.

Aaron frowned, clearly not understanding.

I turned to look at Laneige behind me. The memory of that day came back to me. The witch in the blizzard, bleeding tears of red as she reached for me.

“Just once, please. Just once is enough. I just... want to feel... warm.”

The hand that I had coldly rejected back then, the hand that had frozen stiff and lifeless, this time, I wanted to take it.

Aaron clicked his tongue again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He then raised his spear toward me. “Either way, if you plan to keep shielding that witch, you’d better be ready for what comes next.”

I let out a quiet, bitter laugh. “Ready, huh?”

I raised my sword. “Yeah. You’re right about that.”

Just that it’s not me who should be ready. It should be you.